Kofi Kingston has now held the tag team champion title longer than any other wrestler in WWE history.
The news was broken by WWE India on Twitter , which pointed out on Tuesday that Kingston had hit 954 days as a reigning tag team champion. The record had previously been held by Billy Gunn, who held on to the title for 953 days.
Kingston said he was overwhelmed by the achievement.
“Never in my wildest dreams did I set the goal to be the longest-reigning tag team champion,” Kingston said to ESPN .
“I’m lucky and blessed to have so many tag team championships.”
To mark the occasion, Kingston’s fans and colleagues took to social media to praise the superstar for his consistent, reliable performance.
“(Kofi) has the most days as a tag team champion in the history of WWE. Never failed a drug test. Never had a brush with the law,” his tag partner Big E tweeted.
“Always a professional to the highest degree. Give this man his flowers while he can still smell them.”
Kingston initially responded jokingly.
“I will gladly accept all flowers given to me. Blue Bonnets are out of season, but hydrangeas will do just fine,” he tweeted.
On a more serious note, he then posted a followup tweet, tagging the Twitter handles of his partners.
“Nonetheless, I’m thankful and grateful for all the teammates I’ve had along this crazy journey,” he tweeted.
It’s official! @TrueKofi is the #WWESuperstar with the most days as a Tag Team Champion in @WWE ! No wonder, @WWEBigE & @XavierWoodsPhD hold him in such high regard! Congratulations from #India . pic.twitter.com/Yol9uZvF5T
— WWE India (@WWEIndia) September 25, 2018
The Ghanaian-born American wrestler has been a regular sight on the WWE’s main roster for more than a decade. First signing up with the WWE back in 2006, Kingston has since won a solid 15 championships, including four intercontinentals and three U.S. championships. In 2007-08, he enjoyed a months-long winning streak that cemented him as one of the most promising new wrestlers of the decade. Then in 2011, he formed tag team Air Boom with Evan Bourne and went on to defeat the more established New Nexus. This victory began Kingston’s first stretch as a tag team champion, which lasted five months.
Reflecting on the early wins, Kingston told ESPN Air Boom pushed him to his limits. His partner, Bourne, brought out “the best athletically” in him and “was doing things nobody had done before,” he told ESPN .
However, Kingston’s biggest breakthrough came in 2014 when he joined New Day alongside Big E and Xavier Woods.
Kingston said the team represented the “most amazing journey ever” in his wrestling career, despite some early teething problems. According to ESPN , New Day spent months locked in meetings with WWE over how to present themselves in the ring. Initially characterized as gospel preachers bringing good news, the first iterations of New Day didn’t go down well with crowds. However, as their identity evolved, the group became one of the most popular tag teams around.
“We had to fight to get that goal, and fight to keep it,” Kingston said.
